Cigarette tax by state runs from a low of $0.17 per pack in Missouri to a high of $5.35 per pack in New York, with the median state charging roughly $1.80. On top of whatever your state collects, the federal government adds $1.01 per pack, and a handful of cities pile on their own local taxes as well.
States With the Highest Cigarette Taxes
New York sits at the top at $5.35 per pack. Maryland is next at $5.00. The District of Columbia charges $4.50 plus a $0.44 surtax, bringing its effective rate to $4.94. Rhode Island is at $4.50, and Connecticut at $4.35. At these levels, the state excise tax alone can account for more than half of what you pay at the register.
States that have raised their rates incrementally over the years tend to cluster near the top. Legislators in high-tax states often frame the rate as both a revenue source and a public health tool meant to push smokers to quit or cut back.
States With the Lowest Cigarette Taxes
Missouri has held at $0.17 per pack for decades, by far the lowest in the country. Georgia charges $0.37, North Dakota $0.44, and North Carolina $0.45. Idaho, South Carolina, Virginia, and Wyoming all stay under $0.65. Lawmakers in these states frequently cite cross-border smuggling as a reason to keep the rate down, arguing that steep taxes just move sales to the black market.
The gap between the extremes is large in real dollars. A carton at New York’s rate carries $53.50 in state excise tax. The same carton in Missouri carries $1.70. That difference is why smokers near state borders often watch where they buy.
The Federal Cigarette Tax
Every pack sold in the United States also carries a federal excise tax of $1.01. The statutory rate is $50.33 per thousand small cigarettes (those weighing three pounds or less per thousand), and large cigarettes are taxed at $105.69 per thousand.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 5701 – Rate of Tax The federal rate applies uniformly everywhere and is collected at the manufacturing or importation stage by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau.2Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. Frequently Asked Questions – Tobacco General
City and County Taxes on Top
A small number of local governments add their own layer. New York City’s $1.50 per pack sits on top of the state’s $5.35 and the federal $1.01, so the combined tax burden reaches $7.86 before sales tax or the manufacturer’s price. Chicago charges $1.18 per pack as a city tax, and Cook County stacks its own tax on top of that. Cross the county line 30 miles out and the local piece disappears, which is why prices in downtown Chicago can look nothing like prices in a nearby suburb.
How States Collect the Tax
Nearly every state uses a physical tax stamp on the bottom of each pack. Licensed wholesalers and distributors buy stamps directly from the state revenue agency, paying the excise tax upfront before packs reach retailers.3Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. STATE System Tax Stamp Fact Sheet By the time you see a pack on the shelf, the state has already been paid, and the cost is built into the shelf price. Selling unstamped packs can trigger fines, product seizure, and loss of the retailer’s tobacco license.
Can You Buy in a Cheaper State and Bring Them Home?
The price gap between states creates an obvious temptation, but federal law puts a firm limit on it. Under the Contraband Cigarette Trafficking Act, transporting, possessing, or selling more than 10,000 cigarettes (50 cartons) that don’t carry the tax stamp of the state where they’re found is a federal crime.4Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Contraband Cigarette Trafficking Act The penalty reaches up to five years in federal prison, and the cigarettes are subject to seizure and forfeiture.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC Chapter 114 – Trafficking in Contraband Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco
Buying online doesn’t get around state taxes either. The Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act requires any seller shipping cigarettes or smokeless tobacco across state lines to register with the ATF and every state and local tax administrator where packages go, file monthly reports, pay all state and local excise taxes in advance, and affix the correct stamps before shipping.6Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Tobacco Sellers Reporting, Shipping and Tax Compliance Requirements The PACT Act also bars mailing cigarettes and smokeless tobacco through the U.S. Postal Service, with narrow exceptions for shipments entirely within Alaska or Hawaii, transfers between licensed tobacco businesses, and small infrequent personal shipments by age-verified adults.7United States Postal Service. Field Information Kit: PACT Act Criminal penalties reach three years in prison, and civil penalties start at $5,000 for a first offense and $10,000 after that, or 2 percent of prior-year gross tobacco sales, whichever is greater.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 377 – Penalties
Vapes, Cigars, and Other Tobacco Products Are Taxed Differently
The per-pack rates above apply only to cigarettes. Cigars, pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco, and snuff are grouped as “other tobacco products” and taxed by most states as a percentage of the wholesale price, running as high as 95 percent in Minnesota. E-liquid taxes vary widely, from $0.05 per milliliter in states like Delaware, Georgia, and Kansas up to $0.40 per milliliter in Connecticut, with other states using a percentage of price instead. At least 19 states now tax oral nicotine pouches, and at least five updated their codes to cover them in 2025. If you’re comparing prices on anything other than a pack of cigarettes, the state chart doesn’t tell you what you’ll pay.